


Sacrificing a Pawn

by psychoadept



Series: Ripper!verse [1]
Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-05
Updated: 2008-12-05
Packaged: 2017-10-20 19:08:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/216154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychoadept/pseuds/psychoadept
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>WARNING: Implied rape.</p><p>An emergency meeting at Watcher's Council headquarters, mid 1980s.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sacrificing a Pawn

**Author's Note:**

> Experiment in writing ensemble dialogue and 3rd person objective POV.

Roger's knuckles were white from clutching the back of the chair in front of him.

"Those were his precise words?" he demanded.

Bruce, the sandy-haired teenager seated across the table, hugged a blanket closer around his shoulders. "Yes, sir. He said, 'This one's mine now. He's as good as dead to them.' And the way he looked--"

"He hadn't turned him?"

"No, sir. He was alive. The Ripper had him in irons, and he was--"

"Committing acts of gross depravity. Yes, you've said. Wesley participated willingly?"

"Sir... he didn't want to. He only did it to save us."

"Why him? Why Wesley? Because he was head boy? Because of me?"

A new voice interjected. "Roger, enough. The boy's been through a trauma. We can hardly expect him to speculate on the motives of a soulless demon."

"A demon wearing the face of your son. I think you'd be more alarmed about this, Edmund."

"I'm very alarmed."

The sudden, tense silence was broken by a bark of laughter. "You know what alarms me?"

Ethan continued, speaking over Roger's attempt to interrupt him: "The fact that he returned the rest of them at all. That means he's interested in more than just sticking it to you lot. He knows that killing all of them would be a declaration of war, but he doesn't think you'll risk much for just one. They're a bribe, to keep you from bothering him."

"After he butchered seven of our best people? Not likely."

"Actually--" Quentin began, the first thing he'd said since he'd called the meeting to order.

Roger rounded on him. The glare was enough to make Quentin hesitate, but he forged ahead. "It would be suicidal to invade a vampire stronghold. With luck we might only double our losses. Rayne has a point: it's too high a price for one boy."

"That's not exactly what I said..." Ethan muttered, but no one was listening.

"That boy is a Wyndam-Pryce. Our family has been a part of this organization for more than four centuries, and you cannot simply abandon its progeny--"

"Roger, I know this is difficult..."

"What is it you know? Your son is dead. Mine is alive, and suffering God knows what horrors at the hands of that monster even as we speak."

"Your son is a hero," Edmund continued. "He made an extraordinary sacrifice for the sake of his schoolmates, and I doubt that any of them will ever forget it."

"We won't, sir."

Roger spun to face Bruce again. They stared at each other in silence for a moment, and then Roger closed his eyes, his expression softening.

When he opened them again, he turned back to Quentin. "It's not impossible. We can recall the Slayer."

Quentin grimaced. "The situation in Leningrad--"

"It would only be a few days," Roger added, speaking over him.

"--is extremely unstable. The latest word from Johnson is that--

"Edmund," Roger pleaded. Edmund pulled off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"--the Rites could start at any time now."

"If you ask me..."

"No one did!" Roger said.

Ethan regarded him quietly for a few seconds, his mouth slightly open. "Keep making the case for rescuing Wesley on your own, then. You're managing so well."

For a long moment it seemed like Roger might actually leap across the table and try to strangle Ethan.

"Say what you have to say, Ethan," Edmund said.

Ethan crossed his arms. "As much it pains me to side with Roger on anything--"

"Ethan."

"Are your brains all as musty as the books around here? This was not a random act of mayhem. If it were, Ripper would have murdered the children in their beds or made them next week's lunch menu. He had a reason for taking them, he had a reason for keeping the one he did, and if you wait for him to make his purpose clear, it will be too late. Likely for all of us."

There was a long silence after Ethan finished speaking. The Watchers at the table exchanged glances.

"We should certainly investigate his motives," Quentin said.

"The question of 'why Wesley' would seem to be relevant after all." Roger turned to Bruce again. "Did the vampire give any indication at all as to his interest in Wesley?"

"Uh... he asked a lot of personal questions."

"Can you remember what, precisely, he asked?" Edmund said.

"Sexual stuff." He shrugged and blushed. "What he thinks about when he wanks. If he ever knobbed a girl."

It was Ethan who asked, "Or a boy?"

"Rayne--" Quentin objected, but Bruce was already nodding.

"He made him say it out loud. That he'd never... you know. Either way."

Roger made a noise in his throat and put his hand across his eyes.

"Oh, my."

"For God's sake, Ethan. Don't make light of this."

Whatever reply Ethan might have made was forestalled when Bruce asked, "Is that bad?"

Ethan pursed his lips and looked at Edmund.

Edmund looked at Bruce. "Virginity has great mystical... ah, potential. You'll be familiar with the sacrifice of a virgin to please a god in certain cultures--although generally the 'god' in question was actually a demon with delusions of grandeur."

"But he didn't kill Wesley."

"There are other ways of harnessing the mystical power of virginity and the--the loss thereof. They're not all evil. The historical origins of many marriage ceremonies can be found in rituals intended to--to..." Edmund gestured with his glasses as he struggled to express himself.

"The rituals usually involved the binding of the soul," Ethan explained. "Did you think 'til death do us part' was just heartwarming hyperbole?"

Everyone jumped when Roger, who had wandered away from the table, banged his fist on a shelf. Edmund gave Ethan a withering look, then got up and went to speak to Roger.

Bruce stared at Ethan with wide eyes. "You think Wes...?"

"Ripper did say Wesley belongs to him," Ethan observed. "I thought he was just being melodramatic. Maybe he was speaking literally. Was there any sign that Wesley participated in a spell?"

"I don't know. What kind of sign?"

"Marks on his body. Or cuts. Something of this nature would certainly require blood."

"Um. I didn't see any cuts, but he'd definitely been bitten. His neck was still bleeding a little, and sometimes the Ripper would... lick it." Bruce shuddered at the memory.

"Hmm." Ethan frowned and fixed his gaze on the tabletop.

A few seconds later, Quentin cleared his throat. "Is there any reason to think that there could be ramifications of such a spell beyond Wesley's loss of liberty?"

"You're asking me?" Ethan's eyebrows leapt towards his hairline.

"You do have more practical experience in this field."

"Good point. I... don't know what effect binding a mortal soul would have on a soulless creature. I'll look into it."

"I'll have our researchers look for precedents."

"Is there any hope of undoing the binding?" That was Roger, lowering himself grudgingly into a chair at last, while Edmund resumed his seat.

Ethan hesitated, drumming his fingers on the table. "I won't say none, but..."

"We still don't know with certainty that that's what happened," Quentin said.

"But it seems likely," Roger replied.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Let's make it our goal to find out as much as we can about what has happened and what our options are before the Slayer returns," Edmund proposed. "Once the crisis in Leningrad is resolved, we'll focus our energies on Ripper. Ethan's right: we need to be proactive. He's been a nuisance up to now, but it's beginning to appear he has higher aspirations."

When no one objected, he turned to Roger. "We'll do everything we can to get Wesley back. He's just... going to have to wait a little while. In the meantime, why don't you take charge of the research? You'll have to submit a formal agenda on Tuesday, but consider it already approved. You can start in the morning. Ethan, keep me apprised of what you learn."

Ethan nodded and scraped his chair back, not waiting to be dismissed.

"Bruce, thank you. I'm sorry you had to revisit the experience, but your report was invaluable."

"Sure, Mr. Giles."

"Are we all in agreement, then?"

Quentin nodded, followed more reluctantly by Roger.

"All right. Let's call it a night."


End file.
